Umno Youth hopes the US Department of Justice (DOJ) civil forfeiture action to seize 1MDB-linked assets could shed light on the truth in the prolonged 1MDB issue.

Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the movement views the allegations made in the lawsuits seriously as it involves alleged siphoning of massive funds.

"We hope the process (the DOJ lawsuits) can go on so we can have some certainty (on the issue)," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

However, Khairy, who is also Youth and Sports Minister, said the claims made in the lawsuits have not been proven to be true.

"This is the outcome of the investigation and have yet to be proven in court," he said.

The DOJ had last Wednesday filed lawsuits to seize more than US$1 billion worth of assets allegedly purchased using money siphoned by 1MDB.

It alleged that about US$3 billion was "stolen" from 1MDB, some of which were funneled to the bank account of an unnamed Malaysian official dubbed 'Malaysian Official 1'.

According to the filings, the largest transfer to the bank account of Malaysian Official 1 was a March 2013 transaction of US$681 million to an AmBank account.

The description of the transactions match those in Malaysian attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali’s Jan 26 press statement regarding the findings of investigations into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.6 billion donation scandal and transfers from the 1MDB-linked company SRC International.

Khairy had last year said that the RM2.6 billion Najib received was a political donation from supporters.

Asked today if he maintains his stand given the US investigations, he said: "I said that general donations would come from supporters - not Umno members or local Umno supporters - but certainly political donation would come from an individual who supports us, be it Malaysian or foreigner, because the donor needs to have confidence in the party."

"No one will give money to a party, donate to a party - any party - which they do not support. This is logical," he stressed.

Khairy also warned reporters not to twist his words on this matter.

"You're lucky to even be in this room," he told the Malaysiakini reporter who asked the question, after she identified herself to be from the portal.

No one quitting Umno Youth over lawsuits

Elaborating on wing's position on the DOJ court filings, he said Umno Youth agrees with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's call for those named in the lawsuits to clear their names.

The lawsuits named Najib's stepson Riza Aziz, family friend and businessman Jho Low and former United Arab Emirates officials Khadem Abdullah al-Qubaisi and Mohamed Ahamed Badawy al-Husseiny.

"We agree with the PM's stand that those identified in the report (sic) should defend themselves in this civil case and should act responsibly to avoid further speculation after the court has heard the case.

"We do not want to make assumptions but it is important that local enforcement agencies conduct their investigations on any possible misappropriation which could be deemed criminal," Khairy said.

He added that local authorities can also move forward in their probe if more information is provided.

"(Further probes) can also be done if it is found in the civil case that the assets referred to were obtained through illegitimate means," he said.

Khairy also brushed off claims that the DOJ filings had shaken Umno.

"So far no one from Umno Youth has expressed desire to leave the party over the issue because everyone understands there is a legal process that needs to be completed to verify the allegations," he said.

READ: Kiniguide: Who are 1MDB officials 1, 2, 3 and the others on the US list?